Australia, (not the Film, not the Country) the Culture

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newmatilda.com offers respite from gastronomic indulgence and familial obligation over the Christmas break
with a series of articles examining the state of the cultural nation.
The series offers plenty of food for thought and conversation about
Australia, (not the film, not the country) the culture.

newmatilda.com draws together an incisive series of articles on
the cultural scene in Australia from the big and small screen to the
world of words. The series examines Australian public and creative
spaces, both virtual and physical; the role of museums and galleries,
design and urbanism and the changing space in which musicians, artists
and actors deliver their goods.

As you sink into the deckchair this summer, you’ll be bombarded with
top tens: best novels, most memorable TV moments, standout film
performances, catchiest tunes. Our series doesn’t focus on the content
of Australian films, poems, plays, songs and books – you’ll have to go
out and find them for yourselves – but rather on the means of
production and distribution and the changing ways we engage with
culture in all its forms. It explores the point that culture-making
occurs in both a social and economic context and asks how we can
invigorate the material conditions in which art is currently made.

newmatilda.com asked leading figures in the arts what we need to
ensure a vigorous, diverse, and relevant Australian culture. Surely
there’s more required than an espresso machine, a case of chardonnay
and a crisis of identity? Our pundits don’t all agree, and their
aspirations aren’t necessarily to the ‘grand’ or even to the grandiose.
What they have in common is an interest in the way Australian culture
is constantly made and remade.

And as the culture is redefined – by filmmakers, visual artists,
poets, novelists, essayists, scriptwriters, designers and actors and
indeed, the Minister for the Arts – so too do our understandings of
Australia (the nation, not the film) change.

Articles in the series will be published on newmatilda.com from 22 December through to 7 January.

Launched in 2004, New Matilda is one of Australia's oldest online independent publications. It's focus is on investigative journalism and analysis, with occasional smart arsery thrown in for reasons of sanity. New Matilda is owned and edited by Walkley Award and Human Rights Award winning journalist Chris Graham.

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